The whipping-boy test

[BiddiscombeSkills]

Discussion on another thread got me thinking about how we rate players performances on any given week, and how one bloke might think a player was god's gift to footy while another might think the same player disgraced the jumper, song, mascot, and ancestry of all previous champion tiger teams.

It's fair enough that everyone wants to defend their favourites and slate their usual suspects, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that finds it frustrating to read some of the blinkered stuff that sometimes gets posted. It's hard to argue with a zealot. The fact is, no matter how objective we try to be, our views are coloured by how much we personally like or dislike a player and the way he goes about his footy. Sometimes, we can all be pretty irrational, and this makes our judgement questionable.

So, how can we objectively rate a player on any given weekend? Simple - use the whipping-boy test, which goes a little something like this:

If <insert favourite whipping-boy> played exactly the same game as <insert favourite golden child> last weekend, would you have been cool with it?


If the answer to the question is "no way, I would have sent the bastard straight back to Coburg", then maybe it's time we either cut the whipping-boy some slack, or started laying into the golden child a bit more.

Either way, it makes you think about the denial a lot of us (me included!) like to live in.

 

[IanG]

I know you were talking about Newman but another one is King. He's hard at it but the amount of goals he's conceded this year has reached very worrying proportions. He still has a lot to learn about when to run off dangerous opponents.

 

[Rosy]

If <insert favourite whipping-boy> played exactly the same game as <insert favourite golden child> last weekend, would you have been cool with it?

I couldn't think like that.

 

[richards42]

I know you were talking about Newman but another one is King. He's hard at it but the amount of goals he's conceded this year has reached very worrying proportions. He still has a lot to learn about when to run off dangerous opponents.

Newman despite some very good skills, has leaked goals for years. Maybe could go back to coburg to tighten up his game ( and join the same classroom as petts and joel) or be used exclusively on the wing/ midfield/ resting forward. Either way he's not a backman.

 

[Baloo]

I know you were talking about Newman but another one is King. He's hard at it but the amount of goals he's conceded this year has reached very worrying proportions. He still has a lot to learn about when to run off dangerous opponents.

I think it's the difference in attitude and natural skill.

Newman seems to coast and despite is natural ability performs just adequately this year.

King gives it all every match. Bleeds for the club. You can see that despite the lack of polish he's working to the best of his ability. That's why Kingy is a cult hero and newman has questions over him now.

 

[grumpytiger]

you can't underestimate the "grunt" factor of kingy either. you hear about richmond players being quiet and introverted...kingy has that fire in his belly and shows it to the rest of the boys.

i reckon the angry "stick it up em" factor makes up for a few turnovers and getting caught occasionally. it lifts the rest of them.

did anyone see / hear on sat night when kingy gave away a free kick... the tv camera caught the gritted teeth and the umpy's mike caught the groan as he turned away to stop himself from abusing the ump and giving away a 50?

our backline needs that attitude right now. kingy will never be the most talented player on the list. but just imagine if the rest of them showed his g&d. Wow.

 

[billyb#40]

Newman kicked it from full back to the centre square, then missed a target over 30 metres,
some players just need to kick the laces off the ball every time

 

[Freezer]

did anyone see / hear on sat night when kingy gave away a free kick... the tv camera caught the gritted teeth and the umpy's mike caught the groan as he turned away to stop himself from abusing the ump and giving away a 50?

I mentioned this on the umps thread doing the rounds. He'd just applied a great tackle on Milne, who just threw the ball away with his right arm but Kingy got nothing. He was then buried by Milne who got the free kick right in front. I think it was the one he didn't get that irked him more than the one that was given against him.

 

[grumpytiger]

ta freezer i didn't remember the incident, just kingy's reaction.

 

[Freezer]

ta freezer i didn't remember the incident, just kingy's reaction.

He was pretty funny. It looked like he was gonna give the ump a "Hudgden".